


Freedom is a strange thing

by Crystalcatgamer



Series: Fanfics about block people so they're real people heck yeah [4]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But plot, Feels, Fluff and Angst, For me but also the characters, Foreshadowing, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Not gonna lie I stan pretty much the whole server, Pain, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Self-Indulgent, Slaps the hood of Dream SMP, Technoblade Hears Voices (Video Blogging RPF), There's just a lot of looming danger yeah, This bad boy can fit so much angst in it, Winged Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), no beta we die like ghostbur, no beta we die like me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:20:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29128623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crystalcatgamer/pseuds/Crystalcatgamer
Summary: Crystal was a force, a heavily restrained one. She didn't disobey orders, followed her masters and made their plans work. She was a monster, and they didn't expect anything less. Then she's taken away to a new server and meets a whole bunch of people that open up her world. Suddenly there's betrayal and hurt and pain, but somehow she finds something under the swirling chaos that came from before the war. She protects it with everything she has.Haha pain, will slow down when my hyper-fixation stops. Tell me if I fuck up Canon. First 2 chapters are the backstory and sucky but bear with me guys I’m fleshing this story out
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Original Female Character(s) & Dream, Original Female Character(s) & Technoblade, Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, original female character(s) & Everyone
Series: Fanfics about block people so they're real people heck yeah [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2113947
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Why do I do this to myself do not expect the same quality from my other works

Crystal read the letter telling her about how they needed her to go visit the citizens and reassure them. Ironic, how the most dangerous person on the server was so well-liked. She was lucky that the place had so many good people.

Elsewhere she would be shunned and feared and distrusted the moment they heard of the blood on her hands. The people here instead thanked her for keeping them safe, for a husband who didn't need to be recruited, a wife that wasn't taken by bandits, children allowed to roam free and play happily.

She left, making the trip down the mountain. She didn't understand why the city lord - _her master_ \- had built his castle so high up. It was difficult for goods to be brought up, and leaving the castle was a whole different story. But she wasn't one to question orders. She reached the city and many greeted her with treats and freebies. Crystal distributed them later, keeping a few as a snack.

Then something crunched behind her.

She turned to see a tall hybrid walking up to her, a golden crown inlaid with precious jewels adorning his head.

**Danger.**

She froze, staring at the piglin(?) hybrid. They didn't get many hybrids here, since the city lord despised them. Something told her that the hybrid was aware of that. But more interesting was that her danger sense had sounded, telling her the man was not to be messed with. It wouldn't be much if said danger sense hadn't so much as twitched in years.

"You're one of the lord's guards, aren't you? Bring us to him, we have business." A gruff voice sounded from the hybrid as he loomed over her. She paused, checking for threats. The hybrid was no ordinary person, but somehow Crystal didn't think he was a assassin. The way he carried himself wasn't an assassin's silent tread, it was the calculating stalk of a hunter. He wasn't even trying to blend in. Another man stepped out from an alleyway, walking over.

"Now Techno, we're supposed to be emissaries." The man chided, which was a strange sight considering the height difference. On closer inspection, the piglin hybrid was actually younger despite his staggering height. She blinked, tilting her head. Where had she heard the name Techno?

"Phil, I didn't even touch my sword." Techno grumbled back. Phil chuckled, turning to face her. Then an elytra extended from his back. She froze, her mind going into overdrive. Phil with his elytra. Techno the piglin hybrid.

"Philza Minecraft. The Blade." She addressed, bowing. "That's a new reaction." Technoblade noted, raising an eyebrow. She straightened, motioning for them to follow. She remembered the stories.

Philza Minecraft, the man who had lived in a survival hardcore world for years, defeating the Ender Dragon and gaining his wings. Technoblade, The Blade, Blood God, the hybrid was almost as famous. He was leagues above everyone, having single-handedly won entire wars.

Crystal hummed softly, checking to make sure they were following as they reached the mountain. "What kind of idiot builds his castle on a mountain?" Technoblade deadpanned, craning his neck. She had learned this was what he usually sounded like.

"I wonder why Dream sent us here. The citizens looked happy enough." Philza mused, beginning the hike up. Crystal nearly stumbled at the name.

_(She remembered porcelain masks and green so bright it hurt, ghosts of what had been.)_

Soon enough they reached the top, entering the castle. "Finally you're back. Who are this...people?" Her master, the city lord stalked over, pulling up at Technoblade and Philza. He didn't like hybrids, or people that were stronger than him. Which was most people. Crystal was barely tolerated because she was useful, but he didn't make it easy.

"We are emissaries send by the Dream SMP to see the faction. He heard of how quickly you rose to power, and wanted to see how you were doing." Phil says smoothly, stepping forward. Instantly her master drew himself up with pride, obviously pleased. The Dream SMP had become a big thing, having an admin and gods. People flocked to it, but guests were restricted and only certain people were whitelisted.

"Of course! He obviously recognizes potential!" Her master laughed, not noticing the amused glance his guests shared at the statement. Crystal cocked her head but didn't comment, waiting.

"If you don't mind, how exactly did you rise to power?" Technoblade drawled, clearly wondering how someone like her master had managed to win wars. "That? Oh, it's thanks to my strongest soldier. You already met her, she's called Crystal." Her master says dismissively, gesturing to her.

Both men blinked at the statement, studying her in a new light. They probably heard the rumors when walking through the city, but hadn't expected someone of her status to be roaming the alleyways. She wonders why they were here.

They could have seized the country by themselves, she didn't doubt that. So why bother stating they were here on peaceful terms? Did they simply want to find out why the city had become so abundant? They wouldn't have bothered themselves for something so trivial then. A normal human or paid soldier would do, not gods and legends.

"Come, I'll have the best rooms prepared for you. Let's eat first, shall we?" Her master says pleasantly, whirling to bark at a few servants before leading the way. Crystal goes to the kitchen to tell the cooks of the upcoming feast, helping them serve the dishes as needed.

There's a tension in the air when she enters the dining room, and she's left wondering why her master looked so uncomfortable. He probably spoke out of turn. Philza was studying her, looking curious.

She was a strange sight, with wolf features and white hair, paired with emerald-green eyes. Hybrids weren't rare, but predator ones like hers were dropping. She knows that she doesn't look very strong, even delicate to some. She likes using that misconception.

Crystal eats, half-listening to her master boast to Technoblade and Philza. She wonders if the man knew who he was talking to, and doubts it. Technoblade blatantly ignores it, while Philza smiles politely and nods. She gets up when she's done, standing guard by the doorway. No real need, but her master liked the display.

She twirled her dagger and occasionally looked back into the room. Once she finds Technoblade staring back and feels a shiver down her spine. The pig skull he was wearing would look dumb on anyone else, but that was nothing silly about the hybrid. The piglin's bloodlust was legendary, and he didn't have a high tolerance for people in general.

Maybe she should patrol tonight, just in case some servant messed up.


	2. Chapter 2

Technoblade was bored. It was a obvious enough fact without a thousand other voices telling him that every second. He cursed Dream for making him go with Phil just to see this stupid city. It wasn't even a country, for goodness sake.

But then Dream pulled the admin power thing and Techno went for the payment the man promised. He really wanted that shulker box.

Dream had been interested in the Blood Angel rumors surrounding the city. It had seemed real enough, not just some dude who thought they were good. The _'Angel'_ had won plenty of battles, emerging victorious with little to no causalities. No full-blown wars like him, but it was still pretty good.

No one was like the Blood God after all.

Chat had thrown a fit about how close the nickname was to Blood God, but eventually wanted to see who had been so powerful that people dared to connect them to his name.

Then he reaches the castle and finds out the girl leading them was said Angel. Sure, he had sensed power from her, but he did not see that coming. **She's hiding her power,** Techno mused, walking around. **On purpose so that people underestimate her. Smart.**

Technoblade does wonder how she came to be under that irritating slimeball who was the city lord. He doesn't like normal people, let alone stuck-up nobles. His communicator pinged, and he opened it to find a reply from Dream. He had messaged the man earlier to tell him who the Angel of Death was.

 **Dream:** Are you sure you saw correctly?

Techno raised an eyebrow, Dream knew better than to question him.

 **Techno:** Of course I did

 **Dream:** Bring her back

Techno paused, rereading the message. Heh? He wasn't some sort of delivery man.

 **Dream:** By any means necessary.

Technoblade squinted, wondering if he was hallucinating or Dream drank something. Why did the man want Crystal? Maybe he thought she would make a good soldier. Techno stared at the message longer and went off to find Phil. The city lord had yet to figure out who he was, so he might as well take advantage of that.

_Fight pog_

_Our battle shall be legendary_

_Blood for the blood god_

_Why u gotta fight a child_

_She's 20, the prick said so_

_That lord gives me slimey vibes_

_Don't they all_

Technoblade sighed as chat burst into existence and continued on. 

* * *

Phil studied Crystal. She was younger than Techno, probably around 20. She reminds him of Techno, fighting battles far too young. He wonders why Dream wanted to bring her back. Not that Phil minded, one look and it was clear the girl was not getting the respect she deserved.

Techno stated his challenge to the city lord nearby, loud and clear. The city lord would not simply let Crystal go, not with the wealth he had won off her. So they needed a prize, a challenge the man could not resist.

Techno would fight Crystal, and if he lost the city lord would get a million gold, paid instantly. Win and Crystal was free to join their side. The city lord was confident in his victory, confident that Crystal would walk away with his gold. If he only knew who had just made the challenge.

Phil allows himself a smile, watching the preparations begin for the match. This would be interesting.

He's the referee, looking out for them. Both are given iron swords, and whoever draws blood first wins. Best out of 5. Crystal looks resigned, knowing just how strong her opponent was while Technoblade seemed mildly interested.

Phil starts the match, and a second later the clang of swords fill the air. They're everywhere, each blow met with the other's block. Crystal is fast, perhaps faster, but Techno is stronger and has years of experience under his belt. He delivers the first cut onto Crystal's shoulder, slicing through the skin and probably glancing off bone.

Phil winces as Crystal freezes and shrugs it off, not bothering to treat it. Techno had never been one for subtlety. Crystal draws blood the next round, knocking Techno down and slicing his cheek. It's a surprise, its been a while since Phil saw the Blood God bleed.

The lack of bloodlust was probably helping, but after that match he sees Techno struggle to rein in the urge to kill. He unleashes his bloodlust instead, freezing Crystal and stabbing her in the arm. Phil goes over to administer first aid, ignoring the city lord's order to continue. Crystal watches him stop the blood, getting up as the city lord came to scream at her.

"Sorry." Technoblade says to him, watching the reprimand. Phil sighs, he doesn't have the right to say anything to the man, it wasn't his fault. He pauses as the city lord whispers something into Crystal's ear and stalks off.

Phil watches the next match carefully, and somehow Crystal had been holding back. She's swinging with more power, blocking and moving faster. She scores a hit and suddenly sits down, breathing hard.

Technoblade watches her, glancing at the cut with what Phil could tell was surprise. But Crystal wasn't winning the next round. She put her all in this fight while Techno had barely broken a sweat.

Crystal does try the next round, Phil can tell. She dodges and weaves and darts back in for a strike, but every attempt is almost lazily blocked by Techno. A crack echoes, and Phil blinks to see Techno suddenly looming over Crystal, having broken her arm and slowly dragged his sword over it.

He's there in a instant, yanking Techno aside and crouching down, trying to see the worst of the damage. The girl had yet to make a sound and Phil can't tell whether she's in shock or has a disturbingly high tolerance to pain.

"I regenerate." She says suddenly, holding up her arm. "Help me reset it."

Phil hesitates for a moment, searching her face. Then he grits his teeth and straightens the arm. The sound of bone scraping rings in his ears, but Crystal merely frowns at the inconvenience and ties on the sling before standing up.

There's a shout as the city lord stomped down, enraged at the loss of a million gold and his best soldier. Phil tries to step in but it turns into screaming, and Crystal just stands there taking in. Rage boiled within him at the treatment, and then the city lord slapped her. His wings burst out and in a split second there's a sword to the man's neck.

Crystal's arm was just broken in a fight the man accepted - _now that he thinks of it, there was no consulting Crystal on the fight_ \- and he had the audacity to slap her. Technoblade doesn't react, staring at Crystal silently. There's a indifference in the girl's eyes that scares Phil, because at least Techno would be angry, or ashamed.

"Crystal is no longer your soldier. You have no right to treat her like that. We'll be leaving now." He snarls, sheathing his sword. He would like to have a few more words, but Dream had said for them to return quickly, not to mention the many people in the room. Phil turns to Crystal, softening his face and holding out a hand.

"Let's go." He said, watching the girl. Crystal tilts her head, then rests her hand in it and lets him pull her along. They leave stunned silence in their wake, but the goal had been accomplished. He wonders what's going to happen next. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Im back. To those 2 commenters, 4 bookmarks and 6 kudos that appeared, you will always be in my heart, thank you.  
> ALSO THE WAY THAY ARE LIKE 2 NUMBERS AWAY FROM EACH OTHER POGGGGG


	3. An old friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The wolf meets the blob

Crystal waited with Philza and Technoblade at the server portal. They were going to the Dream SMP, though they had yet to tell her why. 

_(She doesn't question it, they're her new masters and she has no right anyway.)_

She wonders if Dream had known who she was somehow and had asked Philza and Technoblade to bring her. The portal glows a familiar green and they step through, emerging onto a grassy floor. It's nothing like a Nether portal, far smoother and quicker, but it still feels like you're leaving part of you behind. They set off, Philza typing something into his communicator. They had bought one for her, surprised that she didn't have one earlier. 

_(She watched her last tie to the world be crushed and thrown away.)_

They find a big town that she has to take a moment to absorb. It's...interesting, and you can tell that the people on this server aren't exactly normal.

Crystal sees a gathering not too far off, one that Technoblade looks faintly reluctant to go to. There's a shout and a red blur shoots from the crowd, heading straight for Technoblade and crashing into him. The piglin grunts, peeling the cannonball boy off while the rest of the crowd surges forward. 

"Techno, Phil! You're here!" The - _blonde_ \- boy cheers, another boy with goat horns hurrying over. “Wish I wasn't." Technoblade grumbles, but there's mild affection in his voice as he ruffles the protesting blond's hair. 

They're only a few years younger than her, Crystal realizes, already teens and on their way to adulthood. When was her birthday again? She drifted off, snapping back as Phil called her name. 

"Tommy, Tubbo, this is Crystal. Crystal, these are my kids." Phil introduces, tugging her closer. They stare curiously at her and she stares right back until they look away. 

There's a shout and Crystal freezes at the voice, spinning around. A masked man in a lime-green hoodie stood before her, hands up in mock surrender. As if he had ever needed to be scared of her. She raises a hand in greeting and the next moment Dream is swinging her around, laughing. He's babbling away, about Drista and his new friends and uncaring of their audience. She reaches out to tap his mask and the man reluctantly sets her down, turning to their audience. 

"Everyone, this is my old friend, Crystal. Crystal, meet everyone." Dream announces with a flourish, completely ignoring what one should say in this situation. 

The sentence seems to trigger the crowd, bursting with various protests, ranging from _'Heh?'_ (Technoblade) to _'You have a friend outside the server?!'_ (A man with goggles) to _'She's kinda hot, are you dating-OW!’_ (Tommy and Tubbo) Crystal watched Dream call out random answers that were true, just hard to guess which question. 

"Look guys, I didn't even know Crystal was alive until recently." Dream tries to placate the crowd. "Why didn't you know?" Someone asked. 

"Anddddddddd look at the time, we gotta go now, bye!" Dream plows on, ignoring the shouts. He grabs her and they're teleported onto a snowy mountain. Dream had used his admin powers. Dream grabs her by the shoulders then, scanning her for ~~visible~~ injuries. Then he pauses to search her eyes and asks her a question. 

"Are you okay?" 

Crystal considers the words, checking to see if she felt any discomfort. 

_(Purple bruises around her neck, red marks littering her arms and broken bones, all healed in an instant.)_

"I'm fine." She replied, not feeling hungry or tired either. And Dream's face crumples for some reason, his grip tightening as he continues to stare into her eyes. Then he sighs and leans his head on her shoulder. 

"At least you're here now." Dream mutters and Crystal pats his back hesitantly. Had there been something wrong with her answer? They sit down, watch the sun start to set. 

"Philza and Technoblade will be staying for a few weeks, plenty of time to get you acquainted with the server." Dream said suddenly. "I want to introduce you to everyone before you leave. I can't wait for you to meet George and Sapnap and Bad. They're the best." Crystal listens to the way the man's voice softens at the names and knows they're good people.

"You should see the server, it's so much fun. We have so many people now, you wouldn't believe it." Dream rambled on and Crystal listened. Just like when they were young. 

"Do you like the server?" Dream asks her suddenly, turning to her. Crystal considers the question, thinks of the few people she met. She likes the way the world hums a happy tune, dozens of melodies entwined into one. 

_(And she'll listen to them unravel one by one while she tries to tie them back.)_

Crystal nodded and Dream removed his porcelain mask to beam at her, pleased by her wordless praise. 

"How about you build a house here? A place for you to stay when you visit." Dream suggested, standing up to dust off his pants. She nodded, getting up and watching Dream put back on his mask. 

"Let's go Cryst." He said, offering her a hand. She blinks at the old nickname and takes it. They're teleported back to town and Dream leads her to an empty space.

"C'mon, you can build your house here." Dream said, giving her a stack of wood and all sorts of building materials. He tossed her some Ender pearls and some armor as well, even giving her a stack of golden apples. 

Crystal frowned but the admin merely shrugs. She gets to work, Dream helping her out. She hums to herself, looking at the finished product. It was good. 

_(A little something to remind her that this was her home now, that she was safe ~~?~~ ) _

Dream clapped excitedly, acting like a child. Crystal followed Dream on a tour around the SMP, and relaxed for what seems like the first time in years. They make plans to meet again tomorrow so Dream could introduce her to his friends. Crystal wonders what they'll be like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment please it gives me happiness

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me what you think, I'll burn out after like seven chapters so it all depends on how much u guys like it


End file.
